In contrast to under the sun, the story under heaven is different. Though our lives are brief, like a vapor, our lives do have meaning under heaven. In fact, God has determined the days of our lives and the exact places where we will live those days. Acts 17:26 A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed. Job 14:5
Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
2 a time to be born,
and a time to die;
a time to plant,
and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 a time to kill,
and a time to heal;
a time to break down,
and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep,
and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn,
and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones,
and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace,
and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek,
and a time to lose;
a time to keep,
and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear,
and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence,
and a time to speak;
8 a time to love,
and a time to hate;
a time for war,
and a time for peace.
We can take great comfort knowing that God is sovereign over all of his creation. He has determined the day of birth and death. He is sovereign over the number of hairs on our heads. Matthew 10:29-30 He has created the seasons, sets up and brings down kings and kingdoms, and gives wisdom to the wise. Daniel 2:21 He creates the conditions for peace and even uses the wars of men to accomplish his purposes. Isaiah 45:6-7 He builds up and tears down. Psalm 127:1 He brings wealth and poverty. Deuteronomy 28:17
God, the great Creator of all things, doth uphold, direct dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.
Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 5, Of Providence
In stark contrast to the despair of those who have rejected God, we are not alone in a dying universe. Blind chemical processes do not determine our thoughts and our actions. Our Creator cares for us. Or as David sang to God:
[Our] times are in your hands. Psalm 31:15